


Breathing And The Lack Thereof

by thespookiestparker



Series: Marvel Fluff [5]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Tony Stark, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Swimming, Swimming Pools, soft boyfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:41:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23892499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thespookiestparker/pseuds/thespookiestparker
Summary: steve and tony are literally the only people I write about now, fight me tbh{TW: Almost drowning}
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Marvel Fluff [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1394071
Comments: 1
Kudos: 51





	Breathing And The Lack Thereof

**Author's Note:**

> steve and tony are literally the only people I write about now, fight me tbh 
> 
> {TW: Almost drowning}

Sleeping patterns in the Avengers tower were a sore subject, to say the least. None of them had great habits in that respect, just some were better at hiding it. For most, it was blatantly obvious, not that any of the others were going to point it out quite so brashly.

Steve Rogers, however, was the only seeming anomaly. No one ever saw him during their late nights, every night at 3 am he’d be sound asleep while the rest of the tower would be near to the point of bustling with activity. 

Tonight was quiet, though, one of those rare exceptions. Even Tony himself was asleep, sprawled on Steve’s bed as he snored softly. Beside Steve, unfortunately. 

This was one of the rare nights that only Captain America himself stayed wide awake, wandering the dark and empty halls. He wasn’t about to disturb any of the Avengers who all seemed to be getting their much-needed rest tonight, he was well aware of how rare of an occurrence this was so who was he to interfere?

So he simply made his way down toward the training area, specifically the pool. Something about watching the water calmed him, and it was warm more often than not which helped ease any of his nerves. It was like a giant bath that he could float around in and just breathe. It felt like being in a much less threatening version of space, or a sensory deprivation tank. That was probably a more accurate description now that he thought about it.

Stripping off his gray t-shirt and stowing it away along with his pajama pants, he slipped into swim trunks that Tony got for him and pretty much dove into the water feet first. 

When he first started doing this, it had taken him a long time to get in the water. What if he got in there and it was too cold? He had no way of knowing how his body would react. The first night, he sat at the edge with his legs dangling into the water, the warmth encapsulating him like a gentle blanket. 

Tonight, though, his first fears were proven to be possible. He hadn’t taken it into account that since it was starting to become spring, Tony wouldn’t think to heat the water anymore. His body seized when he felt the chill seeping into his bones, quickly resurfacing and gasping for air as he shivered. That alone was enough to send his mind into a spiral. 

Flashes of going into the ice and the agonizing pain that came along with it came and went, making his breath hitch and his eyes water. Steve became lost, all he could think was he somehow was losing his entire livelihood all over again. His friends, his love, his life. The whirlwind he was stuck in took hold of him fully, refusing to let go as he sunk back into the cold water. Steve couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t remember what he’d been doing or where he was. Why he thought this was a good idea in the first place.  
All he could do was just sink like a rock to the bottom of that pool, eventually passing out from lack of oxygen.

Tony woke up to a cold bed and groaned. 

Where the hell is Steve?

One glance at the clock told him that it was 4 am, so he did a visual scan of the room. He didn’t see a mess of blond hair from under the blankets, and the light to their ensuite bathroom was off like it was when he went to sleep. 

Strange. 

He stood up and grabbed a hoodie, taking it upon himself to investigate. That’s when it hit his half-asleep brain that he could just ask Jarvis.

“J, where’s Steve?”

“Captain Rogers is in the training area, at the bottom of the pool. He requires immediate assistance, as he has just stopped breathing.”

That sent Tony into an all-out, panic-induced sprint. 

Stopped breathing?! What the hell, Steve?! 

He didn’t give himself any time to ask any more questions, racing down the stairs because this was not the time to wait for an elevator by any means.

Tony burst through the pool door, immediately running to the edge and sure enough, there was Steve. He was floating at the top of the pool, face down which terrified Tony all the more. Without thinking, he dove in and grabbed Steve, dragging him to the edge and struggling to push him out.

Once he had Cap laying on his back, he didn’t bother checking for breathing because he’d already been informed he wasn’t and started on CPR. Thank whatever god that was listening that he was still certified to even perform CPR. 

“C’mon, Steve, you can’t die like this. I’m supposed to have a stupid death, not you. You’re supposed to go with honor and dignity, all that bullshit. Don’t you dare.” Tony murmured, tapping Steve’s face before breathing onto his mouth. 

Luckily, after a few sets of this, Steve started coughing up water harshly and Tony turned him on his side so he didn’t choke.  
“Are you alright?? What happened?? Why were you even in the pool this early in the morning??”

Those were the questions Steve had been dreading since the moment he’d started doing this. He didn’t want Tony to know about the nightmares or even the panic attack that led him to this moment, laying on the ground soaking wet and breathing heavily. The look Tony was giving him was enough to assume he wasn’t getting out of this one so easily.

“Well, I uh...I do this almost every morning--”

“You DROWN every morning?! Are you hea--” 

“Nononono, I just, I swim in here a lot. The water’s usually warm and after nightmares, it helps me calm down. This time, it was freezing and I..” he trailed off, somewhat ashamed of the whole thing. Tony, being the genius he was, pieced two and two together. 

“Alright, c’mon. I have a plan. But you should probably shower first, you reek of chlorine.” he sighed dramatically, drawing a chuckle out of his boyfriend. 

Once Steve was showered and tucked into the corner of the couch, fluffy hair and blanket included, Tony came back into the communal living room with popcorn and hot chocolate for them both, passing one over as he sat down next to his sweetheart, Captain America himself. 

“This was your big plan?” Steve asked softly with that special smirk spread across his face that he seemed to save only for Tony. The one that made the inventor’s heart melt behind the arc reactor. 

“No, we’re gonna watch Netflix, too, of course. What, did you think I made popcorn for nothing??” came the sarcastic reply, Tony’s own signature grin plain as day. 

“Oh? So, what’s next on the ‘Steven Grant Rogers, You Absolutely Positively Must See This Or I Swear To God, We’re Breaking Up’ list?”

“We watched The Matrix last time, so it’s Matrix Reloaded, which of course isn’t as fantastic as the first one, but I think we can deal. Also, I’m very proud that you remembered the full title of the list this time.” He laughed as he spoke, leaning over on Steve and pulling the blanket over himself. 

“J, start the movie please.”

So, with that, they watched the movie until Steve fell asleep, his nose pressed into Tony’s hair, and the light from the early sunrise glowing on his skin, and Steve stopped spending his nights alone. 

He spent them with Tony, watching cheesy movies and falling asleep on the couch in different, somewhat awkward positions.


End file.
